Dougie Brown expects his players to bounce back strongly after missing out on Asia Cup qualification

Head coach Dougie Brown was ‘gutted’ that the UAE missed out on qualification for the Asia Cup on home soil but has backed his players to bounce back strongly.

The UAE will have to watch the likes of Pakistan and India instead of facing them after Hong Kong beat them by two wickets in Thursday’s final to claim the lone berth for the main stage.

Brown’s troops scored 176-9 in an innings which started as a 50-over encounter before it was reduced to 24 overs due to rain. That score was largely thanks to aggressive batting from Ashfaq Ahmed’s 79 as well as quick-fire hitting from the rest of the team as UAE scored 114 runs in less than nine overs.

However, Hong Kong reached their revised target of 179 with three balls to spare to book dream ties with Pakistan and India in Group A later this month.

Despite the result, Brown was proud of his players’ efforts but questioned the Duckworth-Lewis method after only two runs were added for Hong Kong’s target.

“Am pretty gutted about the outcome,” said the 48-year-old. “The rain intervened at inappropriate times. To get where we got to was an outstanding effort by the batsmen and to score around a hundred runs in the last eight overs was a phenomenal effort. Hong Kong took the game to us and every time they did a mistake, it went into their favour. It was one of those days where it didn’t go our way.

Thanks for your hospitality Kuala Lumpur. Absolutely gutted we couldn’t get across the line yesterday. So proud of every member of the squad @emiratescricket Mr Duckworth and Mr Lewis need to have another look at the modern game! pic.twitter.com/LaQueyyhb3

“Just a two-run adjustment was added to the score after spending so long in our innings in a 24-over game. I thought this was the kind of thing that the Duckworth-Lewis method was meant to avoid and is hasn’t. Yet, we did really well considering things went against us and we deserve a lot of credit for that.”

He added: “Having said that, we can compete and have got a team of guys who will give everything when they need to do. That is one of the biggest changes that I have seen as UAE coach and I cannot talk more highly of the players for the way they played their cricket in this tournament.

“I can tell you we are hungry and I expect them to react in a positive way to everything as this moment (of missing out) is something we do not want to suffer again.”

There's no reason to panic for UAE after missing out on Asia Cup qualification

UAE’s dream of playing Pakistan and India on home soil in the Asia Cup is over as Dougie Brown’s side lost by two wickets to Hong Kong in the Qualifier final on Thursday.

Only one berth was available for the main stage which takes place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 15, and, for the second time in five days, Hong Kong triumphed against the UAE when they chased 176 in a rain-hit game in Kuala Lumpur.

With the tournament done and dusted, here are the takeaways from UAE’s participation in Malaysia.

NO NEED TO PANIC

Despite not achieving their objective of qualification, the national team shouldn’t be majorly worried. On paper, the UAE were strong favourites to reach the main competition given they were the highest-ranked nation in the six-team tournament. But as the results have shown in the last 11 days, it’s about how the team plays on that day. Four wins in six games (including topping the group standings) as well as scoring more than 1,000 runs scored is just one positive the UAE can take from Kuala Lumpur, while more importantly, there’s still a lot of quality at Brown’s disposal.

The former Warwickshire coach lauded his players’ efforts throughout the tournament for the way they played and rightly so. It’s unclear when the players will be donning the national colours again but whether that is later this year or in 2019, expect the players to bounce back.

Sadly this tournament comes to an end for us. We fought our level best but few things turned against us.

I would like to thank each and everyone of you for supporting us throughout our Asia Cup Qualifiers journey.

Having made his international debut way back in April 2006 as a 17-year-old, Ahmed Raza is still going strong and more importantly still producing the goods. The left-arm spinner is one of the most experienced members in the squad alongside captain Rohan Mustafa, pacer Mohammad Naveed and batsman Shaiman Anwar. Rested for the pre-Asia World Twenty20 Qualifiers in April, his displays in Malaysia were evidence of how valuable he is. In the six games he played, he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps while going at just 3.86 runs per over. It wasn’t enough to help the UAE reach the Asia Cup but his efforts saw him named Man of the Series.

At the crease, openers Chirag Suri (224) and Ashfaq Ahmed (220) let the bat do the talking as they finished in the top-two run-scorers of the competition. Suri, who broke into the senior team last year, could not have asked for a better start when he scored his maiden century for the senior side – hitting 111 against Singapore before following it up with a 65 against against Nepal. Runs were hard to come by for the remainder of the tournament but the 23-year-old’s 220-run tally shows why he is highly rated.

Another person who continues to impress is Ahmed. He’s barely been in the set-up after making his debut in December 2017 but in the eight months, a string of strong displays has cemented his spot at the top-order. After hitting a half-century against Singapore, Ahmed flourished the final – smashing 79 runs from 51 deliveries which gave the UAE a fighting chance. He already has two fifties in his nine ODIs but given his form, it’s only a matter of time before he reaches triple figures.

ABILITY TO PLAY UNDER PRESSURE

The UAE are no strangers when it comes to pressure. In February, at the World Cricket League Champions Division Two, they defeated hosts Namibia and Oman in must-win matches to keep their hopes of securing ODI status alive before retaining it until 2022 during the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe a month later.

In Malaysia, Brown’s side found themselves in the same position. Their 182-run loss to Hong Kong meant defeat was not an option when they faced Malaysia and Oman to keep their hopes of finishing in the top-two in the table. They did exactly that – firstly beating Malaysia before overcoming an Oman side in a must-win clash in their final group game to book their place in the final.

Although the UAE couldn’t complete the job against Hong Kong in the final (losing with three balls to spare), Mustafa and Co have proved again they have the mindset to deal with such pressure in match situations.

There's more than silverware on the line as UAE take on Hong Kong in Asia Cup Qualifier final

With the group stage of the Asia Cup Qualifier over, group winners UAE and runners-up Hong Kong clash in the final on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur.

We look at the key talking points ahead of the crucial clash at Bandar Kinrara ground.

IT’S MORE THAN JUST A TROPHY

Just like any other final, the winners will get their hands on silverware but that sits a distant second on the list. Instead both sides have their sights on the bigger prize – qualification to the Asia Cup. It’s what they have been playing for over the last 10 days and with only one place available for the showpiece event which begins in the UAE on September 15, there’s plenty at stake. Whoever prevails on Thursday will take on Asia’s heavyweights Pakistan and India in Dubai on September 16 and 18 respectively.

The UAE will be aiming to make it successive qualifications to the Asia Cup and their fourth overall. Two years ago, they beat Hong Kong, Oman and Afghanistan in the 2016 edition in Bangladesh.

Despite reaching the final with four wins out of five, the UAE’s middle order batsmen have yet to play to their potential. Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar and Mohammad Usman have become key batsmen for their country but struggled in Malaysia. Although veteran batsman Anwar has a half-century to his name, he has only managed single digits in his other three knocks, while Shahzad’s and Usman’s highest scores are 35 and 19 respectively.

It looks like it is only a blip because between them, the trio have amassed more than 2,000 runs in ODI cricket. UAE head coach Dougie Brown said every player will need to step up if they want to beat Hong Kong and it won’t be surprising if Usman, Shahzad and Anwar piled on the runs on Thursday.

“We need everybody to step up,” the 48-year-old said. “When we play our best cricket, we know how strong our middle-order batsmen we have. The likes of Rameez, Shaiman and Usman are world-class players on their day and we haven’t seen the best of them in this tournament. We want everyone to perform but sometimes that won’t happen. Who knows, all three of these players would love to be in front of the cameras and it’s a great opportunity to show what they’re capable of.”

Shaiman Anwar scored 75 in the opening game against Singapore

CHANCE FOR REVENGE

The last time the two sides met was on September 1 when Hong Kong triumphed by 182 runs in the group stage. In the last five 50-over meetings since 2014, Hong Kong lead the head-to-head 3-2 with UAE’s last win coming in January 2017 after back-to-back defeats in November 2015. Although Brown admitted revenge will not be on their minds, the UAE know defeat is not an option.